The Metropolitan Police has declined to confirm or deny whether any royal protection officers accompanied Prince Andrew to a Pizza Express in Woking approximately 25 years ago, citing national security. The force stated that confirming or denying the information would reveal whether protection was afforded to an individual other than the King or the Prime Minister.
This response comes after the Metropolitan Police had previously referred to the close protection officers of Prince Andrew, whose full name is Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, in a press statement in February. The stance has drawn criticism from Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, who argued that while police are right to be cautious about information regarding protection details, there are instances where a 'neither confirm nor deny' answer is used without a legitimate security reason.
"I really can't see how revealing that Andrew had police protection 25 years ago would play into the hands of terrorists as the Met claims," Davey told the BBC, calling for an exception to be made in this case.
Pizza Express also conducted an internal investigation into Prince Andrew's assertion that he had visited its Woking branch. Mountbatten-Windsor has faced scrutiny related to his past associations, including with Jeffrey Epstein. His military titles and royal patronages were removed by the late Queen in 2022, and he was stripped of his "prince" title last year. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing. Virginia Giuffre, who had accused him of sexual assault, died by suicide in April 2025 at the age of 41.